Tour groups, students in Israel reported safe

• By Chen Hsin-yu / Staff reporter

Three Taiwanese tour groups in Israel are to return to Taiwan according to their original schedule, the Tourism Administration said yesterday, while the Ministry of Education said that 22 Taiwanese students in Israel are safe, after Hamas on Saturday launched an unprecedented attack on the Middle Eastern country.

The administration previously said that the tour groups would be traveling far from the conflict, so their itinerary would not be affected.

Tang Wen-chi (湯文琦), head of the administration’s Travel and Training Division, yesterday said that 74 people are traveling in three tour groups in Israel: two Artisan Travel Service Co groups and one Yung Shin Travel Service Co group.

Photo: Reuters

Those in the tour groups were to leave Israel and head to Jordan yesterday, and were are all safe and well, she said, adding that due to flight adjustments, the travel agencies are working to put them on flights from Jordan to Taiwan as soon as possible.

The administration had not received any reports about emergency incidents in Israel from other travel agencies, but would continue to monitor the situation and provide timely assistance if needed, Tang said.

After a tourist traveling with Yung Shin Travel on Monday criticized the company for not allowing them to return to Taiwan earlier, the travel agency yesterday issued a statement saying that it has asked members of the tour group whether they wanted to shorten their trip, but they collectively chose to stick to their original itinerary.

Although a few members wanted to leave Israel immediately on Sunday — and air raid sirens and bombs could still be heard through Monday — the local tourism bureau and guide suggested that staying in Jerusalem might be safer, as there was uncertainty about when national borders would be open, it said.

Yung Shin Travel said that it had reported its decisionmaking process and conditions of the group to the Taipei Association of Travel Agents and the Tourism Administration, and followed standard operating procedures for responding to emergencies.

It has dealt with emergencies such as the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia and a terrorist attack in Turkey, with all travel agents in charge working around the clock to bring everyone back safely, the travel agency said, adding that it would continue to negotiate with airlines and members of the tour group to ensure their safe return.

Separately, the education ministry said that 22 Taiwanese students were in Israel, while the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv said that all of them are safe.

As so far none of them have asked to return to Taiwan, the ministry would maintain close contact with the office and provide assistance if needed, the ministry said.

They are mainly exchange students studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Haifa and Israel Institute of Technology, it said.

Additional reporting by Rachel Lin